Wake Forest-Clemson Postgame Quotes
11/20/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 20, 2010
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POSTGAME QUOTES
Clemson 30, Wake Forest 10
November 20, 2010
BB&T Field - Winston-Salem, NC
Wake Forest head coach Jim Grobe
On the offensive gameplan...
"We had a little bit of everything today. We figured with Clemson being so strong defensively and so strong up front, we've gone back to wanting to run the football, but these guys really haven't let anyone run the football very much. We felt like we needed to have some different things. We had some gadgets and some throws and different things that we tired. They're just a very well-coached defensive football team. They did a good job of mixing up their coverages on us and their front pressured us pretty well. We tried. We had as much as we thought we could put in for this week. At times, I thought it was going uphill against a very talented football team. At times, we had a little bit of success and at times, we didn't execute very well. Overall, certainly we didn't play well enough on the offensive side to win today."
On the kick catch interference penalty...
"You want to be aggressive on covering kicks. Last week, we ran past the returner. This time, we tried to break down. We'll have to find some new technique to teach."
On the second half...
"I thought our guys came out fired up to play in the second half. Give Clemson credit. There are some really good defenses in this league, but I don't know that there's any defense better than the one we just played."
On missed tackles...
"Part of it is coming back as coaches and saying we're going to work harder on tackling. I don't think anyone works harder on tackling than we do. Part of you has to give Clemson's kids some credit. Jamie Harper is a big, physical back, but he has good foot speed and he has good agility for a big back. I thought their skilled players on the perimeter gave us some fits, especially on the rocket screens. I'm very disappointed that we didn't tackle better, but I think at the same time, we're trying to tackle some pretty good players."
On Marshall Williams...
"More than Marshall's football ability, he's just a great guy. Marshall Williams is a really good person. We're going to miss him. I was really disappointed that he had the injury. He had the compound dislocation of his finger. That really affected him for quite a while. It may still be affecting him. He's just persevered through it and showed a lot of toughness. He's worked hard every day in practice. He's just a guy that you love having in your program. He's just a good guy."
Wake Forest players
RS junior Cameron Ford
On the mentality coming into the game ...
"All year, we've had adversity. We've kept working, and we're not going to give up. The coaches haven't given up, and we're going to keep on playing."
On his 34-yard reception, taking the Deacons down to the one ...
"During that play I just wanted to get as many yards as we could. I wanted to hold on to the ball and make sure we got some points up on the board. Growing up in Clemson's backyard, this was a big game for me, so I had a little bit of adrenaline going."
RS senior Matt Woodlief
On the play of the Wake Forest defense ...
"We made a few plays out there today. We forced some turnovers, and Daniel Mack made an interception which helped us out a lot. We caused those two turnovers, but we didn't come up with anything."
On playing in his last home game ...
"I wish it went in our favor, but Clemson is a great team with great athletes. It has been a fun ride. We've had a lot of great games in here this year and in years past. I can say I've had a good college experience, and I've been to a bowl game. It's pretty emotional right now."
RS junior Dennis Godfrey
On the last home game of the season ...
"Not just for myself or my team, I would have liked to get a win for the fans. They've spent hard earned money to watch us play to the best of our abilities, and we're not always doing that. Clemson is a great team athletically, we just have to find a way to win."
Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney
Opening statement...
"It was a good solid win. Better late than never for us to break through and finally get that road win that's been escaping us all season long. It was a really good second half for us. We talked about it at halftime, trying to put the game away - getting a stop and getting a score. - and that's what we did. Just a lot of good things for the whole football team. Thank god for new beginnings. That's what we talked about, it's a fresh day, it's a new day, and let's go make it a good one, and that's what our team did with a good solid win. There were some great individual things. Da'Quan Bowers (had) a couple sacks. He's a half-sack away now from the all-time record. That's six straight weeks in a row that our defense has given up one touchdown or less. I think the record is seven, so it's a great job by them. The biggest thing is that we've been coming up here a long time, and that's the largest margin of victory for Clemson at Wake Forest since 1978. So that's an outstanding accomplishment by our football team and the coaching staff of getting those guys ready to play, especially coming off of a very difficult loss last week. It says a lot about our coaches and the kind of character that we have on the team. So I'm proud of those guys. And then (Kyle Parker) had the highest pass efficiency in a conference game in eight years. That was a great performance, 15-of-17 for 192 yards. Jamie Harper, 24 carries for 142 yards. And Jaron Brown just continues to emerge as a real playmaker for us.
On Chandler Catanzaro...
"Probably the guy I'm most proud of is Catanzaro. One of the things that nobody really talked about last week because of how the game ended is that last drive that we put together. That was a heck of a drive by some key young player and then (Catanzaro) came out there and nailed that critical field goal. That's one of the things that I talked to him about all week. I said, `Hey, nobody's talking about that one, but what a pressure kick you made and let's build on that.' I think he's got four in a row now. It's amazing what a difference a week makes. I'm proud of him because he's had a lot of pressure on him and he stepped up today and performed very well."
On looking ahead to playing South Carolina...
"For us now it's about getting ready for the next one. We're excited about the opportunity to play for the state championship. That's the biggest game of the year every year in our state, and we look forward to it. Hopefully everybody's healthy. I think Ashe was the only one who got banged up."
